And the priests, bearers of the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant, stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, with all Israel crossing over on dry ground until the whole nation finished crossing the Jordan [Joshua 3:17, The Hebrew Bible, tr. by Robert Alter (2018)].
Sometimes you need a sign. It isn’t so much that you want a sign; you may be so discouraged, so distraught, so afraid or bewildered, that you have given up on wanting for much of anything. Wants and needs are not the same thing, of course. While we’re often aware of our wants, we sometimes don’t fully appreciate our needs.
That’s the way I think it was for the Israelites as they camped on the banks of the Jordan River [see Joshua 3:7-17, the OT reading for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, RCL)], having completed some 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness. For an entire generation, all they knew was wandering. Many had left enslavement in Egypt only to be buried somewhere along the people’s meandering path. And while Mother might be an excellent cook, there was a limit to what even she could do with manna. More than a few must have wondered if “this Yahweh” that Moses kept talking about had a sick sense of humor, that perhaps they were the butts of some divine joke. The wilderness was certainly big, but hadn’t they retraced their own steps quite a few times in 40 years?
And now, Moses was gone. The one human force that had held the large band together had died on Mount Pisgah. He hadn’t even been allowed by Yahweh to sink his toes into the so-called “Promised Land.” To be sure, they had a new leader, Joshua. Moses had even vouched for him. Still, things didn’t look all that promising. Joshua had sent two spies across the river to see what the people faced on the other side. Their report: the land did flow with milk and honey, but it also was teeming with rival groups who would not freely give up those riches.
The Israelites now faced one final barrier–the Jordan River itself. Scripture tells us that it was the time of year when the fast-flowing Jordan spilled out over its banks. The crossing would be treacherous, and yet the Israelites–young, old, and in-between–all had to make the liminal passage through the swift flood waters of the river to the other side. How many might they lose in the process? Like I said, the Israelites needed a sign.
And Yahweh, the unrelenting, protective God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is intent upon giving them one. Acting on instructions given Joshua by Yahweh, the people line up, with the priests who carry the ark of the LORD in front. As the priests began to wade into the rushing waters, the waters flowing from upstream suddenly stopped. According to scripture, the waters stood “in a single heap”[Joshua 3:13]. The priests carried the ark to the midpoint of the riverbed and waited as the entire throng of wanderers crossed over in a movement reminiscent of their first day of wandering 40 years earlier, when they had crossed the Red Sea. Just as they had passed through the waters so many years before, the children of Israel walked across the riverbed as if it were a dry, level road.
The symbolism was rich, and yet it was far more than mere symbolism. Their wandering was behind them. To be sure, challenges lay ahead, but one thing was absolutely certain: Yahweh was in their midst. The One who had created the world around them, the One who had uttered promises to the fathers and mothers so many years before, was now fulfilling those promises. The One who had anointed Moses and Aaron–and now Joshua–had determined to tabernacle with them. Yahweh was their God and they were Yahweh’s people. We might add, “Emanuel, God is with us.”
So it was; so it is.
She looked through tears at the wedding band adorning her left hand. For more than three decades, they had been married. They’d made their promises to each other at the altar in her home church, before God and friends and family. Now, three children later, he told her that she no longer excited him.
Excited him? She sadly thought to herself, “What about him is so exciting?”
Indeed, their relationship hadn’t been perfect; whose is? She looked back at her wedding band as her attorney patted her on the arm and said, “The judge has signed the decree.” She needed a sign that she’d be alright. But she was too tired and too discouraged to hope for a sign, far too depressed to even ask for one. Her needs were far out ahead of her desires.
“Are your affairs in order?”, the doctor asked. “I don’t think you should make plans beyond 18 months.”
He was too numb to answer. The past several weeks had been a whirlwind as first the blood tests had shown some “unusual” values. Further tests had been less than definitive, but the recent scans had been all too clear.
“Are my affairs in order?”, he thought to himself. “No, of course, not! My ‘affairs’ included plans to see my grandchildren grow up and marry. In my version of things, I’d assumed I’d have decades before my time to depart this crazy planet. My affairs are affirmatively not in order.”
“Focus,” he told himself. Only how could he focus? Could his family manage financially in the coming years? Would his wife be OK? He loved them all so much, but had he shown it? He needed a sign, but he was too scared, too lost, too bewildered to know his need. His spirit beaten down, he had not the energy to hope.
My thoughts drift back to a Thursday evening so long ago–long before any of us were born. The disciples had just been definitively told by their Lord that His time had drawn near, that He would be leaving them soon. He had said the same thing on a number of prior occasions, but they just couldn’t believe it. Only now, they could tell that He did mean it. And yet, He told them that while He was leaving, He would not leave them alone, that He would send the Paraclete (“Comforter” (KJV), “Helper” (New KJV), “Counselor” (World English Bible), and “Companion” (Common English Bible) [John 14:16] to sustain them.
I’m sure they took Him at His word, but you see, they needed a sign. They were all so bewildered, so confused, so human, that they could not make sense out of what he was saying. That His death would be brought about by the betrayal of one of their own–it was more than any of them could bear. They needed a sign. Indeed, we need a sign!
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” [Matthew 26:26-29].
Notice that the command is to Take, eat–not Take, understand. Our Lord has promised not only to remain with us, but to abide within us. The world is a scary place and yet, we cross at dawn tomorrow!
Jesus gave us a sign; then He gave up His life, so that we would be freed from bewilderment, sin, sorrow, and even death. Emanuel, indeed!
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